by David Bozeman
I should probably begin with some obligatory kind words, given your stature as an ex-president, but since I am not John McCain, I will forgo the over-congenial claptrap and cut to the chase: I am sick of you and other liberals who, every time you need a shot of self-superiority, snidely write off the south as racist. I am referring, of course, to your recent comments, including, “I live in the south and the racist inclination still exists.”
I am a white, southern conservative and I resent the fact that I must defend myself and my beliefs from charges of racism, this time because liberals need to detract attention from their faltering poll numbers. Even if you could prove our assessments of the Obama Administration wrong, you cannot make a rational case that they are borne of racism. No region of the country is immune to racial animosity and you know that. Ignorance is correctable and forgivable. Malice, that’s another matter.
Unlike you, average southerners, while Americans first, take enormous pride in our region, which is racially and ethnically diverse. I don’t want to say that some of my best friends are black — that’s a cliche written by white liberals who live in gated communities and send their children to private schools — but southerners of all races and backgrounds are not only holding their own economically and socially with the rest of the country, we are often setting the pace. We do not disparage the achievements of black Americans, we celebrate individual initiative and hard work because they reveal what is possible in America. Those who survived Jim Crow-era discrimination to succeed, such as Herman Cain, former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, are not a threat to white southerners. In fact, we find their stories present a refreshing alternative to the tripe spewed by media hounds such as Al Sharpton.
It is everyday people, Mr. President, who have made great strides in race relations in the past 50 years. While federal protection and national leadership have been invaluable in securing civil rights, your remarks coarsen our national discourse and only serve to divide. Next step, of course, is to conquer, as liberals don’t invest their faith in average Americans of any color, only in their bloated, elitist hierarchies. If you want to pinpoint what is wrong in this country, how about that hub of corruption, crime and high dropout rates known as metropolitan Washington, DC or that economic dust bowl that is Detroit. Both great examples of liberal leadership.
And is it that that conservatives in the south and elsewhere oppose. We see cherished institutions such as capitalism and individual initiative under assault. Liberals, as usual, don’t see initiative, individual or otherwise, but group identity. They don’t recognize likely success stories, they seek out potential victims and prey on their dependence.
It is truly a shame that you appear less congenial to the political opposition in your own country than to the PLO and Hamas and other sworn enemies of America and our allies. Apparently, the title of deep, enlightened thinker is worth selling out your country and homeland. Your pious pronouncements are nothing new, Mr. President, and, except for occasional controversies such as this one, you no longer hold the power to provoke outrage. Your ramblings induce either yawns or the chortles directed at lunatic ravings heard on street corners.
We in the south, without your help, are painfully aware of our history of segregation and racism, and many of us try hard in our day-to-day lives to prove that we have moved beyond that. How ’bout a little help here? No region, no institution is perfect, as people are not perfect. We try, nonetheless. If you are so intent on assigning blame, then why not look in the mirror and apologize for your abysmal term as president? Best regards, Mr. Carter, and if our racist tendencies become unbearable, just heed the words of that witticism we use on disgruntled Yankee transplants: Delta is ready when you are
David Bozeman is a Liberty Features Syndicated Writer for Americans for Limited Government.
